Through Time
by AlwaysMoreFun
Summary: "Maybe in our next lives, hey?" He whispered, voice fading with his consciousness. "Yeah, I'll be waiting." The bond between Allen and Kanda as they meet again and again in different times, cities, and lives. Reincarnation Fic. Yullen. Character Death.


Disclaimer: I do not own or it's characters especially not the perfection that is Kanda Yuu

* * *

 **1917**

The world was on fire.

Everything was red, the colour of the blood of allies and the lust of enemies. The air was filled with the stench of death, wafting threateningly through the war torn battlefield searching to claim it's next victim, and the _noise._ The soundtrack of the battle itself seeming to consist of screams. Screams of terror, anger and _pain._

This wasn't how it was supposed to happen.

No. The order was supposed to have the element of surprise, the Earl wasn't supposed to know that they were coming, but he did. Of course he did. The order was supposed to out number them too, there weren't meant to be _that many_ Akuma. And the order was definitely not supposed to have to fight amongst themselves.

But there Allen was, covered in blood that was not his own. No, the blood belonged to the very people he was supposed to be protecting. Allen could still picture their confused, terrified faces so clearly. _Lenalee._ A single tear running down her bloodied face, _why, Allen?_ _Lavi._ Mouth tight in pain, lone eye watching his movements, _heh, well this is a bummer._ _Link._ Fierce eyes reprehending his actions, _I know you're strong enough to fight this, Walker._

But he wasn't. _I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry._

And there he was.

Standing strong at the edge of the flames that covered the corpse filled clearing. Looking like an angel of death with his hair flowing proudly in the wind given by the raging fire.

Yes. This was how it should end now.

Allen smiled at him, at peace with his fate, "please, Kanda," he begged, "stop me while I'm still in control."

Kanda didn't hesitate. Allen supposed he should've felt a little offended that it was so easy for him to run his blade clean through one side of his body and out the other. Allen gasped in surprise and at the searing pain coursing through his chest.

Kanda caught him as he fell forward onto the blade, kneeling in front of his own crumbled figure, supporting his fallen body as the life slipped out of him.

Allen grimaced, tilting his head back to look at Kanda's face. Stoic and cold as ever, as if the entire thing did not affect him when Allen knew that it did. Of course it did.

"Thanks," Allen huffed out sarcastically, "guess this is the end of both of us right?"

Kanda smirked, still refusing to meet Allen's gaze, "by both of us do you mean you and Neah," now he turned to level his gaze with Allen's, "or of you and I?"

"That's up to you to decide." Allen smiled as best he could through the pain, it probably looked twisted and awkward but Kanda got the idea.

He frowned, "stop smiling. Drop the fucking gentleman act as you're dying at least damned Moyashi."

Allen chuckled, "sorry, didn't mean to offend you, Bakanda." Speaking was becoming harder, the sentence sounding clipped and painful.

He noticed of course, "don't push yourself too hard, you're about to drop dead due to never knowing when to shut your fucking mouth."

Allen tried laughing but instead he shuddered violently, the pain was becoming almost pleasant meaning he was slowly slipping from consciousness. Kanda gripped Allen tighter to his chest, having to hold him slightly to the side as _Mugen_ was currently protruding from Allen's own.

"I'm really sorry I…" Allen stopped to catch his breath, Kanda waited patiently for him to continue, "lost control… I… I didn't want to… hurt anyone." He finished.

Kanda sighed loudly, "you're really fucking stupid you know that, Moyashi?" Allen huffed as indignantly as he could with his life draining from his body, the response he got for this was a smug smirk, "yeah, definitely the dumbest person who ever lived."

"And why… is that?" Allen could barely keep his eyes open anymore even breathing was becoming hard.

Kanda paused for a moment that seemed like an eternity to a dying person where every second counted. When he finally answered Allen just about died from shock right then and there, "because you still think this was somehow you're fault. You may be a damned annoying Moyashi but you're not a murderer." His words were forceful and assured, "this wasn't your fault."

Allen hadn't realised he'd been holding in a breath until it escaped his mouth in a jagged, painful groan. Somehow, those simple words from Kanda released all the pain and guilt Allen was holding over killing his family. Not just because of the words themselves, but the feeling and meaning behind them. And of course the person who said them. Allen didn't understand why, but having Kanda forgive him meant more than any simple words could.

Allen forced his head upwards again, to meet Kanda's gaze, "Kanda, I…"

He left the sentence hanging, in too much pain to speak and unable to articulate what he wanted to express. Kanda's eyes bore into Allen's as he tried to convey his feelings without words, almost immediately they showed that he understood held the silent acknowledgement of what Allen was trying to say, "I know." Kanda said simply after a moment, and that was that.

Allen closed his eyes for real this time, contently, and let himself lean heavily on Kanda's shoulder. He held the weight as if it was nothing of course. "So, what? You're gonna die now, Moyashi?"

Allen smiled, "'uess so…"

Allen felt his head tilt backwards, his hair brushing past his face and enveloping him with the sweet smell of his very being. "What a freaking pain." Kanda muttered under his breath, not letting any emotion into his voice. Allen felt him move once again and he gathered he was looking at him and it vaguely registered to Allen that Kanda's hands were splayed strongly against his back. "The least you could do is say goodbye, mannerless idiot."

Allen rasped out a painful attempted laugh again, "'ee ya, Bakanda…" he swallowed harshly, trying to gather the strength to continue while fighting against the rapidly approaching darkness, "'aybe in'nour next lives, aye?" the question was slurred and incoherent but Kanda got it anyway because he understood Allen, even without words.

"Yeah," Allen could hear a smile in Kanda's voice, "I'll be waiting."

 **1950**

The forest was rough and difficult to navigate in the darkness, especially when one was running as fast as their legs could take them. Allen stumbled over a root more than once but continued running never the less, his life depended on it after.

 _I've really done it this time_ he thought as he tripped over yet again another protruding tree root, _if they catch me I'm bloody dead._

It was probably not his finest idea, stealing the prize jewel from the town museum, but who could blame him. Times were tough and a boy's gotta eat.

"Find him!" A voice boomed in the distance, probably belonging to the mayor.

Allen gulped, putting all his energy into running as far away from the sound as possible. _Yep, I am dead._

After a few minutes of aimless sprinting he caught sight of a large house. The house was magnificent, not only in size but in décor as well. It must've belonged to someone extremely wealthy, but luckily it appeared to be empty.

 _Well, it's better than running through the woods, I guess._

Allen circled around the back of the house, scanning for any signs of life within the vicinity. He could faintly hear the sounds of engines, growing louder by the second, and decided to risk it and enter the house. The doors were all locked of course but he could see a window on the second floor that was ajar. He smiled to himself at his luck and managed to scale the tree closest to the window, his years in the circus coming in handy, and threw himself without hesitation toward the ledge.

He managed to cling to the window ceil and manoeuvre the bastard open after much effort. Finally, after a slight struggle with the curtains, he was in.

Now he was inside and in his opinion, safe from the pigs, he appreciated his surroundings for the first time.

The room he was in appeared to be a sitting room and was large, like the rest of the house it seemed, and absolutely full of expensive looking items. _No really, is god finally giving me a break?_ He stood up from his tangled position on the floor and paced the room. He was right, everything in the room was either made of glass, crystal or an expensive substance that he suspected, _hoped_ , was diamond.

 _Who the hell keeps this stuff on display like this?_

He decided to check out the rest of the house and crept silently down the passage. He moved systematically from room to room, discovering gross amounts of treasures he was sure to 'look after' later on.

He stepped into a room with large windows that ran from ceiling to floor covered by stylish curtains. Once he'd crossed the threshold into the room he found himself hit from behind with enough force to knock him to the ground.

 _Knew it was too good to be true,_ he thought as he faded out of consciousness.

"-ke u-"

Allen's head pounded like he'd been run over by a herd of elephants.

"-ake up"

He was disorientated and couldn't remember what he'd been doing before his head started pounding. He could feel himself slowly regaining his bearings and access out of the darkness.

"Wake up."

He could hear a voice now; it was pleasant to listen to, a musical voice, and he suspected it belonged to a girl based on the pitch of it.

"Wake up!"

He was fully conscious now, remaining motionless as he assessed the situation. He was seated on a hard chair and his hands were tied behind his back with a ribbon of some sort from what he could tell.

"WAKE UP!"

The voice screamed suddenly and Allen's eyes snapped open at the sound.

He saw a girl's face staring straight into his at a embarrassingly close distance, close enough that he could see the exact colour of dark grey the ring around her pupils was.

When he opened his eyes the girl jumped backwards in surprise, clearly unsure of what to do now she'd woken her captive. Now she was standing straight Allen could see that she was a tall girl, slender too with an air about her that screamed grace. She was Asian he could easily see, as her skin was a smooth shade of porcelain, her hair long straight and black, and her dark eyes were slanted in an almond shape.

Eyes that were currently glaring him down as if they could reduce him to dust with her pure will power, he was honestly scared they could for a moment.

Allen gave her what knew was his most charming smile, the best he could hope for right now was to seduce the poor girl and escape with his pride in tact, "hello, didn't mean to scare you I was just looking for a place to hide from the storm for the night." He paused, assessing her reaction, she gave none other than a glare so he continued, "I didn't realise someone lived here so if you'd," he turned his head as best he could towards his hands, "untie me and I'll be on my way."

She was unnervingly silent for a few moments, still glaring at me as though I murdered her family, before she spoke, "liar." Was all she said.

Allen groaned inwardly, this was going to be tough, "what makes you say that?" He smiled again, hoping it would work on her this time, it'd never failed him before he'd gotten himself out of some pretty sticky situations with that smile.

She frowned, "that smile," she nodded at him, voice cold, "it's the fakest smile I've ever seen."

The smile remained firmly in place, if a little bit strained, "I can assure you it's genuine. Would you untie my hands now?" _I don't have time for you._

She scoffed now, a prideful sound that infuriated Allen in the way it seemed to insult and look down on him all at once. "Hardly, why should I?" She was drawling now, her attitude the complete opposite of her graceful and pretty face, "no, I think I'll leave you like that."

And then she _smirked._

Allen snapped, "alright, look, I wasn't looking for a place to hide from the weather but that doesn't really matter because all I need you to do is _untie me_ and then I'll leave and you can pretend I was never here, ok? Sound good?" His smile was still in place the entire time he spoke and he felt almost proud he managed to maintain it, not that it worked on this girl anyway.

She seemed sceptical, "you'll try to escape and steal something as soon as I let you go."

Allen groaned audibly this time, " _no_ I _won't._ I just want to _leave._ " He caught him and reconsidered, remembering why he was in her house in the first place, "ok well maybe not leave _immediately,_ but I promise you I will leave in an hour at the max."

She frowned deeper this time, "why?" She seemed to think about it for a moment before dawning showed on her face, "you're that thief!"

Allen winced, "I don't know which thief you're talking about." _This is a nightmare._

She was excited now, "no you are! You're that notorious thief, you know, the one they call 'Crowned Clown'!" She leaned back and smirked again, Allen felt himself become immediately agitated, "in my opinion they should've called you old man thief instead. What's up with that hair?"

Allen's eye twitched, he took a deep breath to calm himself, "there's nothing _up_ with my hair thank you very much. Now would you please just untie me now." He practically begged now.

She noticed and seemed to consider for a moment, "alright." Allen lit up, " _but_ if you try to escape I will cut you down." She seemed to materialise a giant sword out of nowhere, a _Katana_ he could see upon closer inspection, "and yes, I may be a girl, but I do know how to use it."

It was Allen's turn to smirk this time, "ok, you've got yourself a deal."

She went to work quickly and Allen relished in the feel of freedom, rubbing his wrist with his hand. Now he was standing he took the time to examine the room he was in. It was clearly a bedroom with a double bed and chest and drawers, he concluded by the soft patterns and pale colours that the room belonged to the girl.

He looked back at her to see her watching him faithfully, hand on the hilt of her sword the entire time. He smiled, this time hoping it was disarming, "nice room you've got here, _my lady."_ He emphasised the last two, mainly because he'd decided that's what she must be from the size of this house and also because he wanted to see what kind of reaction she had to that title, whether she relished in it or scorned at it.

She didn't disappoint. Her nose screwed up at the words and she seemed disgusted, "don't call me that." She snapped, "My name is Kanda. Kanda Yuu."

"Japanese?" Allen questioned and she nodded tightly, "I lived there for a while, back when my master decided he wanted to try a _Geisha_."

The girl, Yuu, frowned in confusion, "try?"

Allen smiled at her again, his gentleman act back in place as though she'd never blown a hole in it, "don't ask, trust me, you don't want to know."

This only seemed to confuse her further; Allen could practically see the cogs working in her brain trying to decipher what the meaning was behind that word in this context. After a moment realisation dawned on her face, she looked disgusted once again, "what the hell, that's revolting."

Allen shrugged with a chuckle, "well, by your standards at least. You've probably been pretty sheltered here right?" She seemed offended by this and turned to retaliate when Allen cut her off, "I'm jealous, at your age I was far more knowledgeable than I'd ever want to be even now."

"You speak as though you're actually an old man." She said bluntly, "what are you, sixteen?"

It was Allen's turn to look offended, sure he had a baby face and sure he was kinda short for his age but _sixteen?!_ "Sixteen?!" His words echoed his mind's horror.

She jumped in surprise, unsure of what she'd done to offend, "fifteen?"

Allen cried indignantly, it was getting worse, "I'm twenty!" He all but shouted.

Yuu's eyes widened in surprise or shock he couldn't tell, "wow, you don't look that old at all. Apart from your old man hair of course."

"Please, just shut up, please."

She huffed, "you're speaking to me as though I'm a little girl."

Allen straightened, age mishap forgotten, "I'm sorry, how old are you?"

She grinned, "twenty-two."

"No way," Allen said before he could help it, it was his turn to be shocked, "really?"

"Yes!" She snapped, grin falling back into her seemingly permanent frown.

Allen smiled back at her, "guess I'm not the only one who looks young."

She ignored his underlying jab, "I may look young but I'm much more mature than you." _The people who say they're mature are the real immature ones_ , Allen thought in passing, "I'm respected in my family and I'm of marriageable age too." She seemed proud about the first part but became deflated as she said the last words.

"Don't seem too happy about that last bit." Allen commented.

She snapped, "it's none of your business."

Allen held up his hands in defence, "I was only observing," he took a step towards the window, feeling but not seeing her eyes follow his every step. He spun back around to face her quickly, catching her off guard, "so what is it?" He leaned casually against the window ceil, "Arranged marriage? Neighbours son or a business partner's son? Maybe you've got yourself a boy in town you secretly want to marry instead."

"I do not!" She responded automatically, seemingly shocked at her own reaction.

Allen smiled thoughtfully, "so no boyfriend but you've definitely got some reason you don't want this arranged marriage to happen." Yuu was watching him carefully, unsure of how to react, "what, is the guy a real brat or something? A snob? Doesn't like your hair? Wants you to be a happy little house wife?"

She was quiet for a minute or so before she replied softly, "he doesn't think much of females, he told me my knowledge of the sword is embarrassing."

Allen frowned, "he sounds like a catch."

Yuu's head whipped up as quick as lightning to glare at Allen, "he told me it's disgraceful that I wield a 'man's' weapon and that I have no right to claim to be a master of the sword!"

Allen pushed himself away from the window ceil and approach Yuu slowly, ignoring her wary eyes until he was close enough to touch her. He leant down so his eyes were level with hers and said, "do you know what you should do with men like that?" He moved so his mouth was next to her ear and whispered, "take you sword, and push it straight through his heart."

He heard Yuu gasp and he backed up quickly, resuming a joking posture and smiled in a way that could be interpreted as cheeky, "or through his throat so he can't say those things anymore. That's one way to silence him!"

He could tell by the way she was watching him closely that she wasn't sure whether or not to believe his joking manner now. She was smart, he thought, she'd sensed his dark nature and wasn't sure how to continue now.

He decided to make it easy for her, "ah man, wish my master had set me up with a pretty girl before he abandoned me in the middle of this city." He shook his head wistfully; "instead he left me with all of his debts." This time his head shook but not by choice.

"Debt?" Yuu questioned, previous behaviour forgotten in favour of her curiosity.

Allen smiled, "ah yes, _debt._ Four-thousand-and-two-hundred pounds worth of debt to be exact."

Yuu's jaw dropped, "how?!"

"Oh you know, gambling, booze, _women_ , the usual stuff."

"But, four-thousand pounds?" She was flabbergasted, "is that why you steal?"

Allen laughed out loud, "well, I guess you could say that."

She looked ashamed of acknowledging his thievery, "while that is a considerable amount of debt, you shouldn't steal."

"Yes, yes." Allen responded lightly, wondering around her room again.

"So what is it?" She asked so quietly he almost wasn't sure if she'd spoken at all.

"Pardon?" Allen stopped in his tracks to watch her curiously.

She swallowed and straightened up, "you know, what did you steal? I mean, I assume that's why you're here, you're running from the police, right? I heard them before, in the forest."

Allen grinned, "ah, as I thought you are smart!" He held his bag up in one hand, "shall we?"

He could visibly see her fight with her own curiosity before she lost and nodded eagerly. Allen grinned wider and opened the bag, tipping the contents onto the floor.

Both of them stared at the single jewel that fell to the floor in silence before he heard Yuu say, "you've got to be kidding me."

Allen looked at her curiously, "what?"

She pointed at the jewel, "that!" Her eyes were wide with surprise and something that looked like amusement, "that jewel is my wedding gift! This is brilliant!" She was borderline hysteric.

Allen frowned, "your wedding gift?" She nodded, "your arsehole soon-to-be husband gave you a giant jewel for your wedding present? What are you a mule? Just how rich are you people? You really are a lady aren't you?"

Yuu ignored his jabs and kept staring at the jewel in amusement, "I can't believe you stole the damned thing!" She looked at Allen eagerly, "sell it! I don't care where just sell it somewhere it's worth a lot of money!"

"Oh, I know." Allen said absently, "why are you so eager for me to sell it?"

"Because!" She exclaimed, "it'll just make him so furious! He might even call off the wedding and then my father will be so mad that I can final-" she cut herself off.

"Finally what?"

She was silent for a few moments before responding, "finally escape this place." She lowered her voice "I hate it here."

Allen was thoughtful for a moment, "well, why don't you come with me then?"

Yuu jumped in surprise at his offer, to be honest Allen was quite surprised himself at his words. "Really?" She sounded so hopeful Allen couldn't just take back his offer now.

He nodded, smiling again this time unconsciously, "Sure. We can leave as soon as those bloody town guards stop bothering me."

Her eyes lit up, "you just smiled for real!"

Allen frowned, "what do you mean?"

"Your smile! It was genuine that time, you're happy too!"

Allen wasn't sure if the excitement was making her delusional with joy but he didn't deny her and simply smiled again.

She stared at him, "no, that's not the one."

He decided to ignore her comment, "you'd better get to packing then."

Just as Yuu started on her packing the front doors of the house flew open with a _crack!_

"Yuu?" A voice boomed loudly.

Her eyes widened in panic, "that's my father! Hide!" She pushed Allen towards her closet as footsteps sounded on the stairs quickly.

"Yuu, there's an emergency the Crowned Clown has disgraced this town and taken something of great importance!" Allen couldn't see what the man looked like through the tiny crack in-between the closet doors but he gathered by the voice that he was a man of big stature.

"How horrible!" Allen almost laughed at Yuu's acting, it was terrible surely her father would see through it in a moment.

"Quite, we have to keep the house on lockdown in case he decides to come here for more riches, he was last seen in this area and who knows what goes on in the head of a mad genius."

 _Genius, if that's how they want to see me I won't argue_ , Allen was flattered.

"Do you think he's going to come here?"

Her father seemed to mistake her panic for fear and tried to comfort her, "don't worry, your fiancé the noble Lord Chaoji, is searching for the fiend to bring him to justice."

Allen was extremely close to laughing now, and from what he could hear, Yuu seemed pretty close herself, "I feel at ease now." Her voice was so forced and dry, tinged with laughter that he was amazed at how her father hadn't picked up on her hatred for the man.

"As you should." He seemed to be quite proud of himself, "I have to leave now to help patrol, I just wanted to make sure you were safe."

"I'm fine father," she paused, "thank you."

He heard footsteps and a few moments later the sound of a door opening and closing.

"Crowned clown," Yuu hissed after the door closed, "you can come out now."

Allen opened the door swiftly; "you really shouldn't call me that in this situation." He stated.

She huffed, "well you still haven't told me your name!"

Allen stopped, turning to face Yuu with a grin, "Walker, Allen Walker."

Yuu nodded, "Allen Walker."

She looked up, "the men should leave to patrol soon so we can sli-"

A figure appeared at the door abruptly, seeming to materialise out of thin air.

Yuu's sentence died on her lips as she stared at the door in horror.

"Lady Yuu?" The figure, who turned out to be a man, asked. He turned his head and caught sight of Allen, recognising immediately who he was. He drew his sword and stepped forward, "Crowned Clown? What are you doing here? Are you intending to steal my Lady too?"

Allen understood then who the man was; he was her fiancé, Lord Chaoji. "Well, I figured since I had the jewel I might as well have the woman that it belongs to as well."

Allen was backing away slowly, scanning the room for possible escape routes that would allow him and Yuu to escape safely.

"It's quite hard to find yourself a good woman these days, especially ones capable with a weapon like her." He stared at Chaoji patronisingly, "did you know that she's a _master_ of the sword?"

Chaoji scoffed, "please, she's nothing of the like, she's merely intrigued with the idea of battle by watching us men fight."

Allen laughed, "see now it seems to me that she's got quite the appreciation for her sword there and could probably cut us both into tiny little pieces if she so desired."

Chaoji advanced and Allen dodged, "you give her too much credit." Chaoji gestured to Yuu who was standing motionless in the doorway, staring at Allen in horror. "See, she's terrified of you. She may have the skills but she does not have the wits or capacity to battle like we men do naturally, she's just a girl after all."

Allen whistled, "those are some pretty arrogant words, I wouldn't go underestimating girls if I were you."

"And I wouldn't underestimate." Chaoji continued, "if she was really a warrior then why might I ask, are you still standing?"

"Because he's not my enemy!" Yuu shouted and suddenly she was flying through the air, hair rippling in the movement, pushing her sword forward straight towards Chaoji's heart.

The bastard dodged at the last moment but Yuu managed to make her way to Allen and stood firmly beside him.

Allen grinned at her sideways, holding up a knife of his own, "thought you were never going to jump in, My Lady, that would've been pretty embarrassing after all the praise I gave you."

Yuu grinned back, "I was just waiting for the right moment."

Chaoji stared at Yuu in confusion, "Lady Yuu? What are you doing? Do you realise who that is?"

"Yes, he's Allen Walker." Yuu said proudly, "Crowned Clown and my ticket out of this prison."

Allen felt his chest swell with pride, this girl was impressive beyond words and he was suddenly happy to fight his way out of this mess with her.

"You know this makes you a traitor right, Lady Yuu?" Chaoji stated, "you've disgraced yourself and your family by doing this."

Yuu stared at him and said flatly, "nothing would make me happier."

Chaoji charged Yuu and the two of them locked blades for a few moments. Chaoji used his advantageous weight to overpower her and knock her to the ground; he then turned his blade on Allen coming on relentlessly. Allen held up his small knife to counter the attack, it didn't seem like much but Allen knew what he was doing even with a weapon so small. The two battled in swift jabs and last moment dodges. Yuu appeared to be observing from the sidelines, waiting for her moment to join the action.

Chaoji lost his footing and Allen pressed his advantage, jamming his knee into his stomach and shoving him into the wall. Chaoji cried in pain and Allen made a grab for his sword arm only to find himself pushed to the ground sharply. Allen winced in pain; this wasn't going to be easy.

Chaoji dived for Allen and straddled him, putting a knee on both of his arms pinning him to the ground. Allen could see behind Chaoji charge and go on the attack. This gave Allen enough time to escape his grasp and stand up again. When he did he saw that Chaoji was quickly pushing Yuu into a corner, no matter how good the girl was this was her first fight and she was losing quickly to an experienced fighter.

"I told you girls have no right to wield a sword!"

"No, but either do pigs!" Allen yelled, charging Chaoji again with his knife.

He turned in time to block and the two struggled again, this time Yuu standing close to the fight. "Allen, watch out!" Allen dodged the sword and managed a deep slash at Chaoji's chest.

He roared in pain and reared up to make another attack. Allen prepared himself for the blow but when Chaoji moved to attack he realised it wasn't intended for him.

Allen moved as quickly as he could, praying he'd make it in time, and felt the searing pain before he realised what had happened.

"Allen!" Yuu screamed as he fell to his knees in front of her.

She screamed and jabbed her sword forward, pushing it straight into Chaoji's chest with enough force to make him fall to his knees as well.

"Allen!" She yelled again, dropping down in front of him and holding him upright. "Why did you do that?" She asked sharply, "you could've easily escaped if you'd just left me!"

Allen laughed, "It's not in my nature to leave a person in need." He coughed, his back was on fire where Chaoji's blade had reached and he knew the cut was deep. "It's just not my day."

"Shut up you idiot!" Yuu yelled, "What are you going to do now? Aren't you supposed to take me away from here?"

Allen smiled at her reprehending, "sorry, sorry, just give me a moment to rest."

"No! You're the one that invited me so you should be ready to leave whenever!"

"Jeez," Allen huffed, speaking became more difficult the more blood he lost, he was growing weaker by the second, "no rest for the wicked, huh?"

"Of course not you idiot." He couldn't tell if she was upset or annoyed, he supposed he deserved both, he did make her a promise he ultimately wouldn't be able to fulfil after all.

"Yuu, listen to me." Speaking was difficult but he tried his hardest to sound normal, he didn't want her to panic. "I want you to take your…" He winced as pain ripped through his body, "take your stuff… and _run._ "

Yuu closed her eyes and refused to look at him, "and just leave you?".

"Yes" It took all he could to muster out that word.

She shook her head, "no, that makes no sense! I have no idea how to survive on my own! You said it yourself, I'm sheltered!" She cried.

Allen chuckled, "now… we both… know t's not true…"

Yuu looked at Allen intently, "what will happen to you?"

Allen smiled, or he hoped he smiled it was becoming hard to tell, "I'll die."

The only indication Allen had that Yuu was affected was the speeding up of her heart, which he could feel against his cheek. He supposed she'd started to support his head that way at some point. Cross would be mad if he knew Allen was being nursed by a beautiful girl. Cross would be mad about a lot of things Allen had done today.

Yuu took a deep breath, "ok." She gently placed Allen on the floor, returning to put a pillow under his head and gathered her things, stepping over Chaoji's still body like it was nothing. She walked silently to the door, gathering the strength to do what she was about to do he supposed.

She hesitated and stared at Allen for a long while, "I'm going now."

Allen smiled through his haze, "'ood," he swallowed, mustering up the strength to continue speaking, "'aybe in'our nex' 'ives, huh?"

He was certain he had a sob then, or something that sounded like it because he wasn't sure why this girl would be crying over him. "Yeah," she whispered, "Come find me, I'll be waiting."

He heard her footsteps as she started walking out the door, "thank you, Allen Walker."

 **1981**

Winter in London was an absolute bitch. The days got shorter rapidly, the skies became greyer than one would think possible, the air turned from still to crisp gusts that could chill a person right down to the bone, and the entire city felt like it would be swallowed up by some apocalyptic storm. The storm never came though, no, only the depression that it foretold. The depression that sunk deep into your soul until all that was left was the cold and emptiness.

But hey, that was just a typical winter in London, right?

Allen rubbed her scantily gloved hands together to try and create some warmth from the friction; it was damned near impossible in this kind of weather. She wondered why on Earth she let Road convince her that it would be a good idea to cut the fingers off of her gloves. _What did she say it was for again?_ Allen wondered, _Oh right, to keep my "punk image" whatever the hell that meant._

"Yo, Al! Hold my 'ands would ya? I'm bout'ta freeze ta death!"

Lavi was huddled close to her side dangling his hands pathetically in front of her face with a hopeful grin. He looked down right pathetic as he presented his hands meekly to her.

Allen sighed, "fine, but don't get any ideas you giant perv."

He grabbed her hands enthusiastically and sighed contently when he had them tucked safely into her jacket pocket. "Ah, this is the stuff!" Leaning his head back against the wall behind them he spoke, "maybe I should grow my hair out long like yers ta keep my neck warm too."

Allen scoffed, "you'd look a like a real hobo then you know. All shaggy and unkempt, that's sure to impress…what was her name again?"

His grin turned into a lazy one this time, "Lenalee, 'er names Lenalee." He sighed wistfully, "Lovely Lena my shinin' light."

Allen gagged theatrically causing Lavi to bring his face close to hers and, against all reason, grin wider, "com'on Al, don' be like that. Ya gotta believe in looooooove" he drawled out the last word making Allen even sicker.

"Hah, love my arse, more like infatuation. Infatuation, might I add, which will never lead to anything."

He frowned, "Now why would ya say that, Al? Wanna crush my dreams or somethin'"

"Just trying to lessen the blow for when she finally stops coming by here." Allen muttered under her breath.

He heard anyway, he always did, "one day ya gonna let go of that chip ya got on ya shoulder." He grinned again, "a girl with a face like yers needs ta appreciate the beauty of love more, ya know."

"Well, maybe a girl with a face like mine would appreciate _lots_ of things more if I could you know, see it in places other than the filthy glass windows of this alleyway." She grimaced, "not that I want to see my dirty face anyway."

Lavi smiled sadly at her, "I don' see anythin' dirty 'bout it."

"Neither do I, Miss Allen." A voice drawled to their right.

"Thanks fer the back up Tyki, Al here seems ta find any flaw in anything I say today." Lavi somehow managed to feign an incredible amount of hurt with only one eyeball visible, the other, the one he'd lost in a street fight, covered by a patch.

Tyki laughed haughtily, "well, maybe something's got the little lady down today," he appeared thoughtful for a moment, "love troubles?"

He dodged quickly as Allen threw a nearby rock at his head, "well, well, well, testy now aren't we." He drawled again, half grinning, half sneering down at her.

"Piss off, Tyki." She snapped, "nobodies got any business worrying about love or any of that kind of bullshit around here and you both know it."

They both looked sheepish for a moment before Lavi spoke, "jus' 'cause we're in this situation doesn' mean we can't hope, Al. We gotta have hope." He whispered the last part, and Allen was sure he was talking to himself.

"Yeah, whatever. You can do whatever you want it has nothing to do with me!" She huffed, removing Lavi's hands from her pocket, ignoring his whine of protest, and standing up quickly. "I'm going to go try to scrounge us some food, you two feel free to eat your _hope_ though."

She could practically see Lavi and Tyki grin at each other even with back turned. She heard Tyki laugh, "bring me home some dreams please, Miss Allen!"

"'nd some magic fer me!"

Allen flipped them off as she walked down the alley that they called home, 'them' being the homeless youth population of metropolitan London; those lucky enough to be born into the good parts, but unlucky enough to lose it all. It was almost worse in a way, getting the chance at it all, and then having it all taken away. Not that it mattered to Allen since she was thrown out on the streets before she was even old enough understand. Allen supposed it was to be expected when you've got a horrific red scar running down the side of your face received from a shoddy C-section and even worse, a marred arm that looks like it belongs to some kind of monster. No, Allen was definitely not given a fair lot in life, but she was trying her best to manage any way that she could.

She felt worse for those guys like Lavi who were born into a loving family only to have all of them die when you were just a baby, and then have your only other living relative, his grandpa, die when he was just finished middle school. He'd had to drop out and look after himself and somehow ended up stuck with the rest of them. Or for Tyki and Road who were once part of one of the wealthiest families in all of England only to have them throw them both out onto the street after their father lost his mind and decided he didn't need anyone but their eldest brother. Any of their family tried to find them or reach out to them, from Allen's knowledge, were afforded the same fate. There were many others with stories similar to theirs: bankruptcy, widows, orphans, sex trafficking, it went on and on.

No, Allen thought, her life was almost good, bearable, compared to the torment they'd been through. She could deal with the frightened stares, the disgusted looks when her arm was showing, the wary way people approached with her if it meant that she could survive another day.

She was almost at the mouth of the alleyway now, incidentally the best place to pick off poor suckers who got too brave and take their wallets. Most people knew not to come down this way, that this alley was where _those_ kids were; those kids who were nothing more but scum and would extort you for all your worth. Of course there were some kind souls who didn't buy into the rumours and came through here without either of the two bothering each other, for example Lavi's, Lenalee. But just because that was the case with some, didn't mean the rumours weren't true. Go down this way and there's a 99% chance you're going to come out significantly poorer. Usually due to Allen's handy work herself.

A tall man in a dark coat was approaching the alley and appeared to be intending to come through. _This is your unlucky day Mister._

As she predicted, the man turned to enter the mouth of the alleyway and began walking swiftly down it, with an air of confidence she couldn't quite understand. He walked in a way that gave the impression he was a proud, straightforward man who was assured in himself. To be frank, it pissed Allen off.

Steeling herself, Allen crept slowly towards him from the shadows, aiming for his jacket's pocket. Pick pocketing was an acquired skill that was almost second nature to Allen, you tended to pick up skills like this quickly when you're starving to death in a gutter.

She slipped her hand into his pocket and felt smooth leather against her skin. _Jackpot._ However just as she clasped her hand fully around the material she felt herself begin to slip due to the sudden change in the man's movements and she found herself pinned against the disgusting wall of the alleyway.

The man held his arm across her throat and leaned in close. The first thing that caught her attention were his dark sharp eyes that seemed to catch even the slightest movement. He had a long fringe that hung over his forehead and some of his eyes, his dark hair long itself that was pulled into a high ponytail atop his head. His mouth was curled into a sneer as he stared down at Allen from his advantageous height, "don't," he warned.

Allen didn't want to admit it, but he was just about the most beautiful person she had ever seen in her life. All sharp angles, fiery expressions and clean features. Unlike herself: unkempt, unwanted, and _dirty._

Allen stared straight back into his glare, unwavering, because no matter how dirty and disgusting she was, she wasn't _weak._ "Let me go."

His left eye twitched and he seemed to be registering the fact that she was making demands in this situation. "So you can take my wallet and fuck off with it?" He scoffed, "I don't think so."

Now that he was speaking in full sentences Allen noticed he had a slight lilt to his words and it occurred to her that his sharp features were Asian.

She raised her hands in surrender, "look, I'm sorry I was just trying to find some cash for dinner. You didn't look like you'd miss a pound or two, but I get it, I obviously won't be getting any from you so you can run along now and I'll find someone else."

He stared at her like she had two heads, "you want me to let you go so you can go mug somebody else?" His voice was incredulous, and when he put it like that it did sound stupid.

"So what then? Going to report me to the police?" She challenged, "they won't do shit, they won't come near here. Nobody will." Allen stared straight into his eyes without reservation, "haven't you heard, we're _cursed._ "

The man didn't seem fazed in the slightest, continuing his hold on her neck, "there's no such thing as curses." He said simply.

My eyes widened momentarily, _traitors,_ and she turned my head away quickly. _He didn't mean it like that; he doesn't even know anything about you._

"Besides, I don't give a shit if you mug someone else anyway." He loosened his grip slightly and Allen took the opportunity to slink just far enough away that she was out of his reach. He watched her move away with a blank face, simply keeping tabs on her movements. "What happens to other people has nothing to do with me."

He said the last part sharply and it made her wonder if there was a different meaning to those words. "Well, I'm just going to get going then." Allen started turning to walk back to where she came from before she was stopped by a hand on her upper arm, "I thought you didn't care what happens to other people?"

"I never said you could go." He levelled me with a glare, "first of all I want you to tell me something, since you seem like you're familiar with this area." He spoke confidently, with no concern as to how his words may affect someone in Allen's situation, he genuinely didn't care if he upset her or not. She liked it.

Allen straightened up and he let her go once again, "well?"

His frown deepened, "I'm looking for someone." _Ah, weren't they all,_ "a guy around twenty-years-old with dark eyes and hair. He'd probably be around my height…" he trailed off, unsure of how to continue.

It occurred to her that he didn't actually know what this person might look like, not _anymore_ , he was probably separated from them for a long time. She sighed, "anything else? That's not exactly something to go on, lots of people fit that description you know."

He huffed angrily, "he has a scar across his nose." He seemed frustrated, "look I don't know, I just have to find him!"

Allen could tell he truly meant it. "A name?"

He looked up suddenly, shocked somehow. "A name..?" he seemed almost confused by the question.

"Yeah, you know, what you call people? I bet you have one, mine's Allen." She said sarcastically.

"Allen…" He still seemed lost in some trance, "a name… I don't know…"

She frowned, "you're desperately looking for a guy who you don't know what he looks like, or his name, but you think he's down here?" She asked incredulously, "You realise how vague that is right?"

He huffed again indignantly, "that's all I have, ok?" He snapped, "I don't know if he still goes by this but when we were kids we used to call him Alma."

"Like as a nickname? Or a gang name?" Allen was becoming more confused by the second.

"No, just… we didn't have anyone to give us names there…"

It suddenly made sense, "you're an orphan."

His confused face turned sharp again, "and what of it?"

She held her hands up in defence, "nothing, I've got no grounds to judge." He frowned at her again, "you can follow me and look around if you want." She looked up at his face and stared square at him, "just don't blame me for what you see there."

He nodded and followed silently behind her as she walked 'home'.

Allen didn't dare look at his face as they entered the fringes of the camp, it was probably filled with disgust anyway. Lavi was still sitting where Allen left him, rubbing his hands together to try and create warmth. He looked up at her questioningly as she approach but only offered her a smile, opting not to question her company. Tyki on the other hand grinned sleazily as they came into view, "finally found yourself a man hey, Miss Allen?"

"Piss of, Tyki." She snapped, still not sparing a glance behind her, "have you seen a guy around here called… Alma, was it?"

This time Allen looked at the man, who only nodded, not showing any emotion on his face be it disgust or discomfort.

Tyki seemed to ponder this for a moment, "Alma, hey? I think there was a guy 'round here once who said they knew an Alma."

"What did he look like?" The man asked suddenly causing both Tyki and Allen to start.

Tyki frowned at him, "is this Alma guy important to you, pretty boy?"

The so-called 'pretty boy' ignored the jab and continued, "yes. What do you know about him?"

Tyki shuffled awkwardly, a bad sign she knew, and straightened up, "he said he saw him 'round these parts, he was pretty messed up though."

Allen heard a thump and turned to see the man slumped against one of the alley walls, no mind for the filth covering it. "He's alive…" he muttered in shock, clearly not expecting this answer.

"Tyki!" She hissed quietly, unable to look at the man in clear pain.

He simply shrugged, "he asked."

Allen approached the man, who's name she still did not know, slowly, "um, he's alive, isn't that a good thing?"

He looked at her as though in a daze, "yeah" he breathed, "Alma's alive, and _here_."

"Well, not here…" She trailed off, the man wasn't listening anyway. She clapped him on the shoulder; "we'll keep an eye out for him. You can come by here and check every so often if you want?" She offered.

Still in his daze he nodded.

Allen was becoming slightly creeped out with his docile attitude, the cold and fierce atmosphere from before completely gone.

"Uh, so do you want me to show you out, or…"

He seemed to snap out of his trance, as he stood up ramrod straight, it was almost comical watching him try to regain his posture, "I can find my own way out."

Allen heard Lavi chuckle in the distance and she grinned too, despite the fact he was being rude she was entertained "alright, see you later then, Pretty Boy."

The frown was back, "it's not Pretty Boy you damn Moyashi." _What the hell is a Moyashi?_ "It's Kanda." He said crisply as he swept out of camp.

"Kanda, huh?" Allen repeated to herself, ignoring Tyki's smug grin and Road's questions when she found her five seconds later. It was a lot harder to ignore Lavi's knowing smile, but she did a pretty damn good job of it.

Ignoring their expressions became harder and harder, however, with every visit Kanda made to our camp.

When Allen had said he could come check every so often she didn't mean _every damn day._ The man would not take no for answer though and insisted on coming every day to see if this Alma man had come by. It made her wonder just how important he was to him, something that made me feel unpleasant for reasons she didn't want to explore.

Allen wasn't the only one who Kanda talked to, or more like _annoyed_ , in his visits, however. He'd seemed to become quite good friends with Lavi, or well _Lavi_ had become good friends with _him._ Whatever it was, the two of them spent a fair bit of time passing words. " _Yuu_ ," We learnt this was Kanda's first name recently, "com'on don' be stingy, gimme yer scarf, it's cold 'ere dammit!" Lavi had taken up whining to Kanda as a new pass time it seemed.

Kanda sighed exasperated, " _No_ , you damn Usagi. I get cold too."

Allen snickered, "Lavi, you really shouldn't be so needy. Lenalee may get the wrong idea." She teased; Kanda had become familiar with Lenalee too in his visits as the two crossed paths sometimes.

"Not my Lena!" He gasped, "I'd never look at 'nother but my Lena!"

Kanda rolled his eyes, "I'm going," he said standing up, he turned his gaze to Allen, "Moyashi, follow me."

Lavi wolf whistled which quickly turned to a groan as Allen kicked him in the shin. She glared at him sharply before leaving to follow Kanda, who as expected, hadn't waited to see if she was coming or not.

"Wait up, Bakanda!" Allen called, catching up to his long strides.

He ignored her and kept walking, she leaned forward to get his attention, "what do you want?"

They were out of sight of the camp now and he abruptly stopped. Allen stopped too after registering the movement, and came to face him questioningly.

He dug through his coat pockets, the same ones she'd tried to steal from that first day. He pulled out a long red rope; similar to the one he himself wore in his hair. He offered it to her, "here."

Allen stared at it for a moment, "what?"

He shoved his hand forward again, clearly agitated, "take it. It's for your hair."

She took it tentatively, "I know, but why?"

He looked away from her face and stared intently at the ground, as if he was trying to burn a hole in it, "I noticed you always play with your hair, I thought it annoyed you and I had a spare one of those."

Her eyes widened, "so you're giving it to me?"

He seemed intent on ignoring my presence, "don't think too much into it. I just got annoyed watching you play with it all the time is all."

She stared at the string in silence, unsure of what to say. Allen couldn't remember the last time someone had given her something, especially not something as considerate as this.

Kanda noticed her silence and snuck a peek at her face, jumping slightly when she turned to stare up at him. "Thank you." She whispered, her voice coming off soft due to disbelief.

He seemed uncomfortable by the gratitude as he quickly turned towards the mouth of the alley and began walking swiftly, "whatever, just make sure you wear it."

Allen watched his back the entire time he walked towards the entrance. His shoulders were so broad and he seemed so strong, she wondered what it would be like to be held in those arms briefly before she chased away the thought.

Life continued like that for a few months, Kanda coming, chatting with the alley locals every day for varying lengths of time, leaving after Allen walked him out. She didn't know when the part where she walked him out became routine, but she didn't exactly mind the extra time spent with the man she likened to a storm: unpredictable, strong and beautiful.

She don't know if it was because of the hair tie, or the food he sometimes brought them, or him in general, but before she knew it she understood how Lavi felt about Lenalee's visits: she looked forward to Kanda's visits every day. And he came, every day, without fail.

So, when he didn't, Allen panicked.

"Al, he's prob'ly just held up." Lavi, noticing her distress, tried to comfort her.

"Shut up." She snapped, not really meaning to take it out on Lavi, but _where is he?_ "I'm just going to go check the mouth of the alley, ok?" She called not waiting for an answer and began walking towards the entrance.

Something hadn't felt right all day, and she was beginning to worry. What if something had happened to him? What if he wasn't coming anymore? What if he was done humouring her? What if he was sick of pretending he didn't find her disgusting and dirty?

She began flat out sprinting towards the entrance, dreading what she might find there. Allen could see a figure on the ground of the alley; it appeared to be a human shape. _Please, no._

The closer she got the more she could make out details she really wished she could erase from her memory; a pool of long hair, a large body obviously belonging to a tall man, a coat she'd seen too many times before, and a river of bright red blood.

"Oh god, oh god no," She sputtered as she collapsed next to Kanda's body, fussing her hands over the red covering his chest. "What happened?" She whispered.

He turned his head weakly towards her voice, "Allen?"

"Yes! Kanda, it's me, Allen!" She practically yelled, "I'm right here!"

He rested his head against the ground again, clearly content with her answer. "My chest… it hurts…"

It pained her to hear his voice sound so small, it wasn't meant to be small, it was meant to be loud and sharp and _lively._ "Alright," she pressed her hands where the majority of the blood was and he visibly winced, "here?" He nodded.

She moved the cloth of his shirt aside and immediately wished she hadn't.

Right there on his skin was a deep gash, one only possibly caused by a knife. "Oh _god,"_ She croaked out, pressing her hands against the wound trying to stop the blood, " _what the hell happened?!"_

Kanda seemed to chuckle but all it sounded like to Allen was a weak sob, "bastard got me… from behind… took my money…" He seemed to find this ironic, "took your target…"

"Shit!" She gasped, "ok, I'm going to go get Tyki and he'll know what to do!"

Allen started to stand up but was stopped by a whimper, _Kanda_ was _whimpering_ , "no, stay." He gasped out, "dying…"

She kneeled down next to him again and touched his face, "you are _not_ dying, ok? You are not _allowed_ to die!" She said fiercely, cupping his cheek in her hand.

He exhaled and leaned into her touch, a sight that brought the tears to her eyes running down her face, "ok, I won't."

She panicked, he seemed to be losing consciousness and Allen had no idea what to do. If she left him now to get Tyki he might be dead by the time she returned, but if she stayed here like this he sure as hell wasn't going to get any better. God, there was just _so much blood._

"Kanda, I'm gonna need you to lie still, ok?" Allen asked him forcefully.

He nodded, "you… lose the mask… when you're scared…"

"Mask?" Allen questioned, unable to help herself.

He nodded again, "the polite… one… I like you better like this…"

Allen raised a blood stained hand to her mouth to stifle a sob, his words struck her and a flood of emotions she couldn't comprehend erupted, threatening to drown her.

"You're… prettier when you're real…" he continued, closing his eyes and fading from consciousness.

"Kanda!" She shouted, not receiving anything but a slight flicker of his eyelids, "Kanda, open your eyes! What about Alma?!" Allen gripped his face with both hands now, "Yuu, _look at me!"_ She screamed.

His eyes flickered open again, looking directly into hers but not quite _seeing,_ "Alma… tell 'im… I'm 'orry…" he rasped out, focusing his eyes on her now, "I… would'a 'iked to see 'ou… inna white 'ress some'ay" his words were hard to make out but Allen heard them. She heard them clearer than anything she'd ever heard in her life up to that moment.

She chocked out a sob as his eyes slipped closed again, "you would've looked great in a suit too."

He smiled as she leant down and rested her forehead against his, not caring how much blood the both of them were covered in.

"'orry… 'len… 'idn't wanna… 'eave you alone 'gain…" his words were fading quickly and becoming harder to make out.

Allen shook her head, "no, I'm the one who's sorry." Her words weren't much better, chocked out in-between sobs, but she was sure he'd understood them, "maybe in our next lives, hey?"

Allen couldn't see it, but she knew he was smiling, a genuine smile this time, not like his smirks or malicious grins, but a real smile. "I'll be waitin'…"

His breath, which she could feel faintly on her face a moment ago, was gone. Allen sat up immediately, "Kanda?" She searched his face for life, "Kanda?! Kanda!" She screamed, not noticing the harsh footsteps heading our direction.

"Allen?" An urgent voice yelled, she couldn't register whom it belonged to though; nothing mattered apart from the fact that Kanda _wasn't breathing._

"Kanda!" Allen yelled again, "Bakanda, open your damn eyes!" She was becoming irrational and she knew it but nothing mattered except that Kanda had to breathe again.

The footsteps were right behind her now and she heard someone gasp and another voice yell, "shit!" and suddenly another pair of hands were there, searching Kanda's body for life.

Allen grasped them, why was someone else touching him? She looked up at the person the hands belonged to, "he's not breathing" She said mechanically, like it was all she knew to say, "he's not breathing," she repeated.

Another pair of hands gripped my shoulders and Allen recoiled, "no! Kanda! He's not breathing!" Why didn't they understand? Kanda had to _breathe!_

"Allen," the voice said carefully, _Tyki_ her mind supplied, she didn't want to hear anymore. _Stop, stop, stop, don't say it!_ "He's gone, Allen. He's not going to breathe anymore."

Allen gasped and saw the body in front of her clearly for the first time. His shirt was open revealing his chest which was covered in bright red blood, not only surrounding the hideous gash over his heart but covering his entire shirt and coat in the violent substance. His beautiful face was covered in red hand prints, _mine_ it occurred to her, and was relaxed into a serene expression. The worst part was that he was _smiling_.

Allen sobbed again and brought her hand to her face, "no…" This time a pair of arms wrapped around her from behind and lifted her from Kanda's lifeless body, Allen vaguely registered that it must be Lavi from the way he smelt and didn't say anything just simply acted. "He's really gone…" She gasped out.

"Yes, he's gone, Miss Allen."

The world went black.

 **2015**

"Lenalee," Allen groaned, "I still don't see why I have to come."

Lenalee turned to face his position on her bed, "because you're my best friend and I asked you to," she flipped her hair, turning back to her reflection in the mirror, "besides Lavi really wants you to come."

Allen sighed, flopping down onto her mattress, " _Lavi's_ not the problem, actually, I quite like Lavi," Allen had only met his best friends new boyfriend a few times but he'd got the impression he was a good guy. It might've had something to do with his goofy smile and bright orange hair but he gave the overall impression of _friendly_. "It's his _friend_ , Kanda, that's the problem. He's such a dick."

Lenalee smiled, "he's not that bad. Maybe if you didn't stir him up he wouldn't _be_ such a dick to you."

Allen grumbled "not possible" under his breath knowing Lenalee could hear.

She rolled her eyes, "give him a chance, besides-" she paused, stopping mid eye shadow to grin wickedly at him, "he's a hot dick."

"Hah! Hardly." Allen retorted.

"Mmmhmm" Lenalee hummed knowingly. They both knew he was lying.

Kanda was indeed hot. _Extremely_ hot. Like, could fry bacon on his face hot. It was no use denying that kind of beauty when even men as straight as arrows gave him a second look. Something, which Allen was not, straight that is. It really was a shame that a man that hot was such a prick.

"Whatever, I'll _try_ not to kill him." Allen groaned, sitting up straight, "but if he starts it I'm not going to just take it ok."

Lenalee smiled, seemingly appeased, "I wouldn't expect you to."

"How much longer are you going to take anyway?" Allen looked at the clock, "doesn't this start at seven-thirty?"

She spared the clock a glance, nodding, "yep, but Lavi said we should show up 'fashionably late'" She quoted with her fingers, "so he's gonna pick us up at eight."

Allen rolled his eyes, unsure why he was even going to a battle of the bands anyway. Lenalee could've worked as a sales person, or a real estate agent, or a seductress with her persuasion skills. Lavi was in for a hard time, not that he seemed to mind.

Ten minutes later Lenalee finished her make up, making a fuss about what to wear.

"What the hell are you supposed to wear to a battle of the bands anyway?" she moaned, holding up two dresses, "it's in a club too, isn't it?"

Allen nodded, "go for something tight I'd say." He grinned holding her gaze, "I'm sure Lavi would agree."

She rolled her eyes, "I'm sure he would." She put on a pair of leather shorts with a black crop that came to the waistband. She had her knee high boots she wore everywhere on as if it wasn't even a question.

"Good?" She asked turning to Allen.

He gave her a thumbs up, "revealing yet tasteful."

"So slutty but respectable?" She corrected, gaining a sheepish grin from Allen. "Perfect then!" She exclaimed.

The two chatted for a few minutes before they heard a knock on the door. "Finally," Lenalee groaned, walking to the door.

Allen followed her down the stairs, catching sight of his own outfit in the mirror as he passed her mirror. He liked to think he hadn't put much effort into it but truth was he'd spent hours stressing over what to wear. Anyone who knew them knew him and Lena weren't really into the club scene but he didn't want to look like a total tool.

He settled on grey acid wash skinny jeans, a light grey t-shirt and a long black vest Lenalee had assured made him look stylish.

Lena opened the door to find a grinning Lavi bouncing excited at them, "come on, let's go kiddies!" He exclaimed, "hey Al!" he waved.

 _Always so hyper,_ Allen thought, "hi Lavi, how are you?"

"Great!" _thought so_ , "even better now I've lived to see Lena in those shorts."

Lenalee hit him but threw a smug smile in Allen's direction who rolled his eyes in response. The honk of a horn interrupted them.

"Mr Grumpy's getting impatient we better hurry up." Lavi said taking Lena's hand and pulling her towards a black Hilux.

Lavi climbed into the front as Allen and Lena took this as a cue to get into the back. He turned to the long haired man in the drivers seat, "ready."

"'bout fucking time." He grumbled, starting the engine and turning onto the road.

Allen sighed; this was going to be a long night.

They drove for a few minutes before pulling up to a club with flashing neon lights and a line that went half way down the street out front.

Lavi groaned, "this is gonna take forever!"

"That's why I said we should come earlier but you kept fucking insisting we should get here 'fashionably late'." Allen hated to admit it but he agreed with Kanda.

He parked the Hilux down the street where he could find space and turned off the engine. The group climbed out, Allen finally getting a look at the man driving the vehicle.

He was wearing his trademark black combat boots, which a pair of black ripped skinny jeans were tucked into. He had on a dark grey t-shirt with a red flanny tied around his waist. The bastard looked fucking impeccable as always, Allen briefly wondered how much time he took to pick out his outfits, which must've cost a fortune he also noted. His long black hair was pulled into a high ponytail as usual; he was the only guy Allen knew who could actually pull off a ponytail that beautiful and still manage to look manly. His sharp face was frozen in a permanent scowl, his dark eyes watching the crowd for possible annoyances.

Allen sighed, yeah, he was ridiculously hot.

Kanda didn't seem to notice his stare and instead walked towards the club line, obviously not pleased at the prospect of spending the next hour or so waiting in it.

Lenalee frowned, "are you sure we have to wait this long?"

Kanda flashed her a half confused, half annoyed look, and Lavi asked "yeah? You can't just walk in."

She smirked, "we'll see about that."

She sauntered off towards the bouncer, winking at Allen as she passed him earning a burst of laughter from him.

Lavi and Kanda both stared after her before Lavi asked, "what's she planning?"

Allen choked down a laugh, "just watch, she's got magical powers of persuasion, trust me."

Kanda looked like he'd rather do anything but and Lavi just continued staring after his girlfriend in confusion.

 _Ding._ Allen's phone signalled that he'd received a text after a few moments.

 _Come to the front, he's letting us in._

Allen burst out laughing once again; another text came in moments later.

 _I told him Kanda was my brother and you and Lavi were boyfriends._

This set him off laughing harder; Lenalee's powers of seduction impressed and terrified him sometimes.

"What is it?" Lavi asked nervously.

Allen tried to calm his laughter, failing several times.

"Shut the fuck up and spit it out, Moyashi." A sharp voice cut through his laughter.

Allen sobered up and shot a glare in Kanda's direction, he turned back to Lavi, "she said to come up to the front, they're going to let us in."

Kanda made an impressed noise and Lavi's jaw dropped open, " _how?"_ He asked incredulously.

"How do you think?" Kanda quipped.

"You just have to shut up and follow me ok." He said to Lavi, "oh, and don't make any actions towards Lena."

He frowned while Kanda seemed to understand, Allen swore he saw him smile for a moment but it was gone so quick he decided he'd imagined it.

Kanda Yuu didn't smile, he didn't know if he even felt let alone expressed emotion.

At the front of the line the bouncer gave them a once over, clearly unable to care less about letting them in as he was solely focused on Lenalee. To specify, more like Lenalee's _arse_.

Lavi frowned as he passed him, noticing his stare and Lena's apparent disregard for it. Allen tried not to laugh as not to give them away, noticing Kanda roll his eyes in his peripheral vision.

The club inside was packed to the brims, people standing pressed together and grinding against each other, something that Kanda was clearly not impressed with.

"Kiddies, let's move over there!" Lavi shouted over the loud music, pointing to a spot in the mosh pit that seemed less packed.

Kanda grumbled something about a seat and a sword under his breath, which Allen chose to ignore, and reluctantly walked towards to spot following Lavi.

"This place is insane." Lena said to Allen, running her wide eyes over the crowd, "I can't believe Lavi and Kanda are into places like this."

Allen scoffed, "Lavi, yes, Kanda, _no._ Seems like the type of place he'd come to just to find a convenient group of people to mass murder."

Lena laughed at this, "come on, let's go!" She grabbed his arm and walked towards Lavi who was dancing, which looked more like an epileptic fit, in the spot he'd pointed out previously.

Kanda was standing rooted in place watching the band play avidly, his face showing concentration and maybe a little, god forbid, _joy_.

Allen found himself entranced by the man, once again, something that didn't escape his nosy best friend.

" _Hot dick_." She yell-whispered just loud enough for him to hear.

Allen chose to ignore her and turned to watch the band, hot dick forgotten.

It was a four piece band consisting of boys in ripped jeans and band T's, half with some form of coloured hair and piercings.

The lead singer was belting something about therapy and break up's that Allen couldn't quite catch.

Just as he was getting into the song, after finally learning how to block out Lavi's awful _and_ loud singing, he found himself pushed to the side by the growing crowd.

He ended up pressed hard against the person in front of him and to his right, barely finding room to breathe. It was safe to say he definitely couldn't see the stage anymore, barely having been able to see it before he was squished like a cheese sandwich.

"Tch, fuck off damn, Moyashi." The person to his right said, apparently Kanda.

Allen rolled his eyes before realising he couldn't see it. He tried again, "it's not like I want to touch your dirty arse, if I had a choice I'd be pressed against a rubbish bin rather than you." He quipped, ignoring the other man's scoff, "plus, why do you keep calling me Moyashi? I'm not a damn bean sprout you bloody prick."

Kanda showed surprise for a moment, probably at the fact Allen knew what a Moyashi was, before he returned to his scowl, " _because_ a Moyashi is a Moyashi."

"You're really immature, you know that right?"

Kanda chose to ignore him, turning his attention back to the band.

Allen smirked, "shitty personality to match your non-existent maturity." Kanda continued ignoring him, "may be a bishounen on the outside but you're definitely not on the inside."

Kanda turned to retort but was cut short by a strong force behind him pressing him toward Allen. Before either could respond, to their horror, the faces smacked together and Allen found his lips pressed against the very man he couldn't stand.

 _Oh my god I'll need to shower in bleach for a year before I can forget this_ , was Allen's first thought, which quickly turned into, _holy shit I'm kissing Kanda Yuu._ Because, well, Kanda Yuu was hot and who could blame him for being a little excited.

The kiss, which for some reason not only continued, but had turned into some sort of contest between their tongues where Allen let himself be overtaken by a carnal instinct he hadn't known existed until then, was phenomenal. Allen had no idea what was going on but he knew whatever was happening, he _had_ to do it better than Kanda. His hands had found their way up Kanda's back and into the very hair that Allen often found himself fantasising about while Kanda's hands were underneath Allen's shirt.

The kiss was definitely not romantic or sweet by any definition becoming more about a battle for dominance rather than enjoying the sensation. However Allen felt something inside him shift in that moment, as if he had been missing something and he suddenly found it again.

And then he remembered.

" _Miss Allen, your boyfriend's here again."_

 _A tall man with dark skin and a devilish grin._

" _The crowned clown ran this way!"_

 _A life spent running from pursuers._

" _Are you ok, Allen?! It's all my fault! I'm so sorry!"_

 _A kind woman with eyes as dark as her troubles._

" _Allen, do you want to eat lunch together?"_

 _A timid man with hair as curly as he is bright._

" _I don't need your kind spreading your filth near my shop."_

 _An empty gutter where street rats came together._

" _Idiot Apprentice, you have to smile to show the debt collectors you're not someone shady."_

 _A prideful and scornful man who taught him everything he knew._

" _Why won't you play with me, Allen?!"_

 _A small girl with a personality big enough to compensate._

" _Allen! I have another job for you~"_

 _A wayward spirit who protected those he treasured._

" _Walker, stop going off on your own I have to be with you at all times."_

 _A kind and loyal man, caught in a terrible situation._

" _Al, I think yer gonna lose yer hair if ya keep worryin' like that."_

 _A boy with bright orange hair and a smile as warm as sunshine._

" _Welcome home, Allen."_

 _A fragile girl full of nothing but kindness and love._

" _Never stop, keep walking."_

 _A kind man who gave him a home and a family._

" _Baka Moyashi, you could've gotten yourself killed!"_

 _Dark flashing eyes._

" _Everything you do is annoying, damned Moyashi."_

 _A mouth curled into a permanent snarl._

" _Being stuck here with you? You're kidding me."_

 _Long dark hair that hung like a shining curtain._

" _We're destroyers, not saviours."_

 _A strong spirit housed within a graceful, steady body._

" _I have to find that person, I can't die until I do."_

 _Passion that was evident in every pore of his being._

" _Thank you, Allen Walker."_

 _Wistful eyes full of hidden kindness and acceptance._

" _I'm alive all thanks to you."_

 _A sad smile finally breaking through the darkness of a dark past._

" _Don't look at me like that, I'm not dead yet."_

 _Someone who risked everything for the sake of a stupid, worthless boy._

" _Maybe in our next lives, hey?"_

 _A broken wish of a dying man._

" _Yeah, I'll be waiting."_

"Kanda." Allen breathed as he pulled away, unable to muster anything else.

The man in question looked just as stunned as Allen felt, staring at him with wide eyes so close Allen could make out the grey in them, hands still gripping Allen's hips.

He opened his mouth and then closed it, clearly at loss for words. Allen couldn't blame him.

They stared at each other in dense silence for what felt like forever, trying to take in the details of many past lives and apparent shared history. The fact that Allen had past lives or alternate lives or vivid imaginary lives wasn't that hard for Allen to accept. That was something he'd always kind of believed in anyway. No, the one thing Allen couldn't get over was the fact that in every single one of his past lives Kanda's existence burned brighter then any of the others who'd crossed over with him into this life as well. Kanda's place in his life, all of his lives, was irreplaceable. And that in every single one of his lives up until now –

Allen Walker had loved Kanda Yuu.

And quite possibly still did if what he was feeling right now was any indication. Allen only hoped his existence in Kanda's lives was even a fraction as important as his was to him.

Kanda still stood in stunned silence, clearly trying to work out the details of what they'd both just witnessed.

Allen closed his eyes, he was not going to let what happened to his past, alternate, imaginary or whatever, selves happen to his current self.

He sighed and smiled, _genuinely_ smiled for what felt like the first time ever, in this lifetime at least.

"I finally found you." He said simply, staring straightforwardly into Kanda's eyes not wanting to be misinterpreted.

Kanda's eyes flicked to his, searching. After a heart beat, Allen's felt like it was going to burst out of his chest, his features softened and he _almost_ smiled but the look he gave him was so warm it had the same effect.

"Yeah," he breathed, "I've been waiting."

* * *

 **I'm not even sorry for the unashamed fluff and disgusting lines uttered by Kanda :)**

 **Thanks for reading!**


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